


...And the Charming Prince(ss)

by GrumpyJenn



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Archetypes, Fairy Tale Logic, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 09:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3203567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpyJenn/pseuds/GrumpyJenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Set a few days after the Season One finale.</p>
    </blockquote>





	...And the Charming Prince(ss)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justlook3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justlook3/gifts), [AnagramRMX](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnagramRMX/gifts), [luladannys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/luladannys/gifts).



> Set a few days after the Season One finale.

_For God’s sake_ , Jacob Stone thought vaguely, _why does she always get to be the prince?_

The first time they’d been thrust into fairy tale roles, Jake had been the Huntsman. And after the events of their first adventure, when Cassie’d looked so hurt and lost that he wouldn’t allow her to earn his trust back, he’d felt about as heartless as the Huntsman was before he saw Snow White.

So maybe that was why.

But here they were, she was the Charming Prince again, a different book this time, and he was… well, he wasn’t actually sure who he was, what role he was playing this time.

Whatever the role, it didn’t involve a lot of moving around, because Jake was pinned under a fallen beam. He wasn’t hurt, just a few scratches, and he could wiggle everything he was supposed to. But he was unable to get out, and Cassie – Prince or not – wasn’t strong enough to move the beam. Zeke had stayed behind for this one, and Eve was off somewhere with Flynn.

Cassie had done everything she was able to do for him; she’d gotten him water and kept him company and now she was prowling the edges of the room, looking for a way out. It scared Jake half to death to think she might go off into one of her spells when he was stuck like this.

There had to be a way to get out of this.

He was musing about how he should be able to do this – art history included literature, for God’s sake, and myth, and he should have some idea at least of the archetypes and tropes involved here – when he was startled by a soft exclamation.

“Cass? You okay?”

“What? Oh, of course. Sorry, I just… I figured it out, the pattern on the wall over there – I guess you can’t see it from here…” She crouched down by his head to check and since Jake couldn’t see anything, he assumed she couldn’t either. Although with Cassandra you never knew. “Anyway, you’re not going to like it. I…” She trailed off and sat cross-legged on the floor, facing away from him as though afraid to let him see her face.

Jake sighed. “What is it, darlin’?” She let out a sound that wasn’t – quite – a sob, and he cursed under his breath. _Dammit, can’t even reach out to take her hand_. “Tell me.”

“I _can’t_.”

“Why not?” _Come on, honey, tell me_.

Now she turned to face him, and he’d thought she’d be crying but she wasn’t. Not really. There was a tear tracking down one cheek, but that was all. And yet she looked absolutely miserable.

“Because you’ll have to trust me,” Cassie whispered, and dammit, there it was again, that ache in Jake’s chest that made him feel like a complete asshole for hurting her, for not trusting her in the first place.

“I think I can trust you to get us out of here, Cassie.” Jake tried to keep his voice gentle; she was really upset. But did she really think he didn’t trust her at _all_? If that was the case he certainly wouldn’t be working with her, not in a job as dangerous as theirs often was. “I trust you to watch my back.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” Now the impatience crept into his tone; he heard it and winced, but he didn’t seem able to help himself.

And, thank God, she didn’t seem to notice.

“Because I’m the Charming Prince again,” Cass was saying, and Jacob blinked.

“Yeah. And…?”

Now she looked apologetic. “And you’re lying down, and trapped, like a—“

“You have _got_ to be kidding me. I’m the what, who? The Sleeping Beauty?”

Cassie blushed a bright scarlet. “Or the Maiden in the Tower. Any Damsel in Distress would do, I suspect.”

“Which means that you, as the Charming Prince, have to, well…” She nodded, face still brighter than her hair. “Kiss me awake. Um, Cassie… leaving aside the obvious uh… gender role reversal here, I’m… well, I’m not asleep.” He took a deep breath. “Guess we’ll just have to wait until I drop from exhaustion then.” He smiled up at her.

“Okay,” she said hesitantly, and moved a few feet to drag a heavy chaise lounge over to him. “How about I tell you something totally boring to everyone but me, like the sound of equations or the color of scent or something? That ought to put you to sleep.”

“They wouldn’t be boring to me, Cass,” Jake said gently, and was rewarded with that brilliant smile that just lit up her face on the rare occasions it surfaced. “But I’d love to hear about… well, about anything you want to tell me.”

He learned a lot about Cassandra that day, while they waited for him to fall asleep. But eventually she dropped off, her voice getting sleepy and her eyelids drooping.

And Jake just lay there, watching her sleep, her busy mind and hands and voice slowed to nothing but steady breaths. _Sleeping Beauty_ , he thought as he dropped into slumber himself.

 

~~~~~

 

“Good morning, my charming princess,” Jake mumbled, and he opened his eyes. The steady weight of the beam that had pinned him was gone, and the doors to the room were open.

And she was kneeling next to him, bent toward him, with her lips just inches from his.

“Good morning,” Cassandra said, and kissed him again.


End file.
